King Charles III greets his 2ndprime minister — in less than seven weeks!
The King appointed Rishi Sunak as leader of the U.K. Parliament following his victory in the contest to lead the Conservative Party on Monday, 24 October.
It marked the first time Charles, 73, has formally asked a new prime minister to form a government, as he inherited Mr. Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss when he acceded to the throne at the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8. Truss resigned last week after just 45 days when she lost the confidence of the majority Conservative Party.
Mr. Sunak was met by the King’s two private secretaries, Sir Clive Alderson and Sir Edward Young, and Charles’s equerry Lt. Col. Jonny Thompson and escorted to the audience in the palace’s 1844 Room.
After the meeting, Buckingham Palace said in a statement, “The King received in Audience The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP today and asked him to form a new Administration. Mr. Sunak accepted His Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.”
Prior, Charles met the outgoing Liz Truss, Buckingham Palace saying she had “an audience of The King this morning and tendered her resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which His Majesty was graciously pleased to accept.”
While Charles’s mother Queen Elizabeth saw 15 prime ministers — from Winston Churchill to Truss — across her more than 70 years on the throne, Charles has now had two in under two months.
NR
